. >> in one sense you can think of a-words going back to ancient greece, achiles, scrooge was an a-word before he saw the light. >> be off with you. ut this is really a new word. it's a word that's formed in the mouths of g.i.s during world war ii as a reproach for officers who were arrogant and in that sense the first leader to be described as an a-word by both his men and his superiors was george patton. >> shut up. this yellow bastard. >> reporter: the word itself may be crude but it's recently inspired pretty sophisticated thinking. >> the value of a moral action depends on the character or motivation. >> reporter: aaron james is a professor of philosophy at the university of california in irvine. with a new bluntly titled book. you've dedicated this book to your parents. >> yes. if my parents hadn't done a good job, i might have been the kind of person discussed. >> reporter: james says that kind of person is multiplying in our society. >> i think probably the number is on the rise because of various trends. one is our recent style of greed is good capitalism. >> greed is right. gr